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501(c) groups
Groups that are exempted from reporting their contributions and can receive unlimited contributions. Section 501c of the tax code specifies that such groups cannot spend more than half their funds on political activities.
527 groups
Independent political groups that are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek the election of particular candidates. Section 527 of the tax code specifies that contributions to such groups must be reported to the IRS.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures.
Electoral College
A unique American institution created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the popular vote within each state. Throughout American history, the winner of the Electoral College vote has usually been the candidate who has won the popular vote. However, in 2000 President George W. Bush was elected even though Al Gore won the popular vote, and President Trump was elected in 2016 even though Hillary Clinton won more votes nationwide.
Federal Election Campaign Act
A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission and provided for limits on and disclosure of campaign contributions.
Federal Election Commission
A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The Federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws.
McGovernFraser Commission
A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation.
Motor Voter Act
A 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.
Super PACs
Independent expenditure-only PACs are known as Super PACs because they may accept donations of any size and can endorse candidates. Their contributions and expenditures must be periodically reported to the FEC.
battleground states
The key states that the presidential campaigns focus on because they are most likely to decide the outcome of the Electoral College vote.
campaign contributions
Donations that are made directly to a candidate or a party and that must be reported to the FEC. As of 2016, individuals were allowed to donate up to $2,700 per election to a candidate and up to $33,400 to a political party.
campaign strategy
The master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaigns.
caucus
A system for selecting convention delegates used in about a dozen states in which voters must attend an open meeting to express their presidential preference.
civic duty
The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should vote.
direct mail
A method of raising money for a political cause or candidate, in which information and requests for money are sent to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.
frontloading
The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.
independent expenditures
Expenses on behalf of a political message that are made by groups that are uncoordinated with any candidate's campaign.
invisible primary
The period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to win early support from the elite of the party and to create a positive first impression of their leadership skills.
mandate theory of elections
The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.
national party convention
The supreme power within each of the parties. The convention meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice presidential candidates and to write the party's platform.
nomination
The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. Generally, success in the nomination game requires momentum, money, and media attention.
party platform
A political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strength. It is the best formal statement of a party's beliefs.
policy voting
Electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues.
political action committees (PACs)
Groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. PACs must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it. Individual contributions to a PAC are limited to $5,000 per year, and a PAC may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election.
political efficacy
The belief that one's political participation really mattersthat one's vote can actually make a difference.
presidential primaries
Elections in which a state's voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party's nominee for president. Most delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way.
selective perception
The phenomenon that people's beliefs often guide what they pay the most attention to and how they interpret events.
soft money
Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising. For a time, such contributions were unlimited, until they were banned by the McCainFeingold Act.
suffrage
The legal right to vote, extended to African Americans by the Fifteenth Amendment, to women by the Nineteenth Amendment, and to 18- to 20-year-olds by the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
superdelegates
National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic Party's national convention.
voter registration
A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register prior to voting. Some states require citizens to register as much as 30 days in advance, whereas others permit Election Day registration.
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